LeBoeuf's Gorring, Saegertown's Mulligan to meet for state title

HERSHEY — Neither wrestler knew the exact total for their head-to-head varsity matches.

What Fort LeBoeuf junior Julian Gorring and Saegertown senior Cody Mulligan definitely know is that Gorring must beat Mulligan for the first time ever in order to claim the 182-pound gold medal awarded during the championship session of Saturday's PIAA Class 2A tournament.

Friday's semifinal victories by Gorring and Mulligan at the Giant Center set up the second all-District 10 state championship match in three seasons.

Those victories were achieved in diverse styles.

Gorring recorded the only takedown of his match against Gaige Garcia when he threw his Southern Columbia opponent to the mat from a standing position with 10 seconds left in their one-minute, sudden-victory period.

The junior's 3-1 decision came after he consistently got out of trouble during regulation.

Gorring said he wasn't worried about Garcia going to overtime, even if LeBoeuf fans who watched them might have thought otherwise.

"I knew I had that takedown in me," Gorring said. "I was just waiting for the right moment where I knew that I could score it. I could also hear (Garcia's) breathing getting kind of heavy by (overtime). That's when I knew this was the moment."

Mulligan, bidding to repeat as the state's best small-school wrestler at 182, was long done with his semi by the time Gorring and Garcia went to a seventh minute.

The Edinboro University recruit led 10-0 en route to an 18-3 technical fall of Mahanoy's Matt Lewandowski.

Gorring (30-5) now has one last chance make up for all of his multiple losses to Mulligan (39-3), with many of them costing Gorring golds in section, district and region meets.

"Look, it's a state final," Gorring said. "You're going home with a gold or going home with a silver. I think I'm closing the gap with Cody, but it still all comes down to (Saturday)."

Mulligan said he respects Gorring but was more concerned about winning the final regardless of who was in the other corner.

"I'm just going to take it as another match," Mulligan said. "He (Gorring) is a good wrestler, and I think he knows what I'm going to do. I've just got to do it better."

The last time two district wrestlers met with a PIAA title on the line was 2016. A LeBoeuf wrestler also was involved in that one.

Bison graduate Charlie Lenox, currently competing for North Carolina State, defeated Jamestown's Faris Messai 6-3 in the state's 2A final at 120.

That same weight class was the one that Isaac Crowell, Gorring's teammate, sought to capture this weekend.

To do that, though, the LeBoeuf senior had to get by Chase Shields of District 3 Bishop McDevitt on Friday.

The preferred outcome didn't happen.

Shields, a returning PIAA finalist, will be at least as silver medalist a second time after he edged the Bison lightweight 3-2.

Crowell never led Friday's semi. He pulled within a point of tying when Shields (40-4) was whistled a second time for stalling in with 16 seconds left, but a mad scramble on the mat between the two didn't result in a desired two-point signal before time expired.

"Isaac has wrestled that kid over the last couple of years," Beer said. "It's always been close (matches). This is nothing to hang his head about because he wrestled as hard as he possibly could."

"And," Beer said, "he's also got a couple more matches here."

Crowell's ensuing match was a consolation semifinal against another 120 state qualifier from the district. He edged Andrew Ischo of Reynolds with a 6-5 decision.

That left Crowell 37-6 going into his bronze medal match against Richie Markulics of Notre Dame-Green Pond.

Two of Ischo's teammates comprised the other half of the district quartet good enough to make Saturday's state finals.

Reynolds freshman Gary Steen made it at 106 and senior Cole Matthews at 138.

Matthews, a University of Pittsburgh recruit, bids to bookend his varsity career with a second state gold medal after he went all the way as a 120-pound freshman.

Harbor Creek 132-pounder Sam Sallot lost his quarterfinal match Friday, but he advanced through three consolation rounds and will wrestle for third place Saturday at Rocco Bartolo of Reynolds.

Other District 10 wrestlers who will wrestle for third place Saturday are Beau Bayless of Reynolds at 113, Tye Varndell of Cambridge Springs at 126, Clay Verbanac of Cambridge Springs (195) and Jacob McMaster of Greenville (220).

Mike Copper can be reached at 870-1614 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNcopper.

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